Moridin's Revenge
by Ba'alzamon
Summary: Hey, there's so much speculation as to how the Last Battle will be fought, and so I thought I'd write an interesting idea of how Rand fights his portion of Tarmon Gai'don. I hope you enjoy!


**Moridin's Revenge**

Rand stepped through the gateway and onto the black slopes of a place that had haunted his dreams since that fateful day in the Stone of Tear when he finally accepted his fate, his responsibility, and his duty to the world. Rand released saidin, and the gateway winked out of existence. With it, left a sight that could strike fear into the most steadfast of men. Countless numbers of Shadowspawn sweeping down the valley, all running because today was the day they served their purpose. Trollocs shouting their wordless howls, swinging their scythe-like swords as they ran on in bloodlust for pain and death. Myrdraal ran with the Trolloc horde, atop their black stallions urging the Trollocs into battle while waving their blackened blades, carved here at the very place Rand was standing now. Draghkar littered the sky, like millions upon millions of locust, threatening to block out even the suns own light as they covered the area. Darkhounds ran amuck between the Trollocs, howling and snarling for human flesh. Even the _jumara_, called Worms by the people of this Age, tunneled beneath the ground, surfacing only to roar a promise of a painful death.

Shadowspawn weren't things sweeping through the valley. Dreadlords stood atop the large hill from which the Shadowspawn poured over. Hundreds of them, men and women alike. Renegades from the Black Tower, which was his own creation, and women of the Black Ajah. Traitors to the forces of the Light, all of them abandoning it for the same reason those thirteen traitors did back in the Age of Legends, when this whole war began: for the promise of everlasting life and power. The Forsaken were there also, atop the hill with their various flags representing their group of the whole army to command. At least the one's that were left stood atop the hill, which consisted of Moghedien, Graendal, Mesaana, Semirhage, and Demandred. There were also two other women amongst the Forsaken, with banners just alike. Perhaps they were Dreadlords who were promoted to a higher position, perhaps even to become one of the Forsaken themselves. Dreadlords and Forsaken alike sent waves of fire across the battlefield, sent silvery lightning lancing from the sky to strike out human life. Mazrim Taim was among those traitorous Dreadlords sending out _saidin_ to destroy life._ I should have listened to Lews Therin when I first met the man. Lews Therin always did know who was good and who wanted nothing more than to place a knife in your back, although he seemed to think a great deal more people wanted to kill him than to help him._ It was tempting to Rand to destroy Mazrim Taim where he stood for all his treachery, but Rand had his own responsibilities, and Taim would have to wait.

Across from the forces of the Dark One, stood the last hope of the world. Soldiers from all across the world. From Murandy, Illian, Arad Doman, Andor, the Boarderlands, and even Seanchan they came. All unifying as Rand had intended, all together to stop the Dark One from winning this deciding battle. Running with the soldiers were three-hundred thousand Seanchan soldiers, all armored with strange insect-like plating. In the sky flew _raken_ and _to'raken_ with their riders atop them urging battle with the Dragkhar that swarmed the sky. On the ground rode other Seanchan riders atop their _grolm_ and _torm_. Thousands of Ogiers swarmed down upon the Shadowspawn with the soldiers, all wielding axes of all different sorts and cudgels, fighting to protect the last of the Ogier Groves. Amongst the soldiers of the world ran all that the White Tower could muster. Hundreds of Aes Sedai launching fire and tumbling the earth to swallow up the Shadowspawn that raced towards them. Warders surrounded their Aes Sedai, deftly fighting of Myrdraal and Trollocs that got through the blasts of the One Power. Atop the hill opposite the Dreadlords stood the Asha'man from the Black Tower that remained Faithful. Amongst them stood Damer Flinn, Narishma, and Grady. Narishma held a shining crystal blade that tried to challenge the sun with its brightness. _Callandor_ granted Narishma ungodly amounts of the One Power that would aid the forces of the Light down on the battle field. Rand had been hesitant in letting Narishma use _Callandor_ instead of he himself taking Callandor with him. Rand decided that _Callandor_ would be a much better use to the forces of the Light than in his hands. He was here on these blackened slopes to face the Dark One once and for all, and who knew how to defeat the entity of evil? If the One Power was useless, then having _Callandor_ with him would not only be useless to him, but it would not be with Narishma and the other people who really needed it.

Rand frowned as he thought on the absence of the Choeden Kal. Right after cleansing _saidin_, the female Choeden Kal had been melted, therefore it was unsafe to attempt channeling into the male Choeden Kal without the safeness of a woman to link with when she was using the female half. Perhaps the overflowing surge of the One Power could be handled only using one of the Choeden Kal, but Rand did not want to risk having Narishma or another one of the Asha'man drawing too much and self destructing on the entire army. Risks got people killed, and today there would be enough killing for the end of time. If Rand had his way, today would be the end of the killing. That was the start of Tarmon Gai'don, and Rand had to finish it.

Rand let the visions of the gateway wink out with the gateway itself. He had to concentrate now; there could be no error in this. Rand surveyed the landscape. This was Shayol Ghul, the blackened mountain top inside which lies the greatest evil ever to exist. Above, roiling gray clouds hid the sky, an inverted sea of sluggish ashen waves crashing around the mountain's hidden peak. Below, odd lights flashed across the barren valley, washed-out blues and reds, failing to dispel the dusky murk that shrouded their source. Lightning streaked up at the clouds, and slow thunder rolled. Then Rand saw it. The entrance to cave that seemed to plunge into the mountain. It glowed orange with the flickers of flames inside. The Pit of Doom. Rand took one step toward it and stopped. From the tunnel walked a figure toward him. Rand's heart pounded as the man approached.

"Shai'tan." Rand breathed slowly. The lightning lanced fiercer and thunder crackled at that name.

"Not Shai'tan, not yet." Replied the man in a deep voice as he walked out of the tunnel. He was a tall broad-shouldered man maybe a little older than himself with hair as black as night, and eyes as blue as sapphires. He wore a black coat like an Asha'man, and his cold gaze took Rand in steadily. Rand had seen this man before, in a city now destroyed. It was in Shadar Logoth that Rand had encountered this man, the day he had killed Sammael. Rather, Mashadar killed Sammael, but Sammael was dead because of this man's help that day. Rand remained ready to defend himself if he needed to. He may have saved him last time, but he also scared Rand a bit with what he had said. _"You are a fool," a man' deep voice said. "Count yourself lucky I don' care to see you die today."_

"You're the wanderer from Shadar Logoth, you were there the day I killed Sammael. Who are you really?" Rand asked curiously.

The man's cold gaze remained on Rand for a while. After a moment, the man answered Rand. "Yes I remember that day." The man replied with a nod. "But we had met before that day, do you not remember?" Rand searched through his memories of every man he'd ever met. There was obviously too many to remember, but even if he could remember them all, that cold gaze would have marked the man out of a million. When Rand frowned the man went on. "No, no of course you wouldn't remember me. When we met all those times before I was of a different body, but the same man at soul." The man grinned at his own comment and Rand took an involuntary step backward. There was something wrong about this man, he radiated… evil was the best word to describe it.

"A name, what is your name?" Rand demanded.

"Call me Moridin." The man replied with a toothy grin. Something tickled Rand's memory about that name. Moridin meant Death in the Old Tongue. It was an old memory of Lews Therin's not Rand al'Thor's. Memories he couldn't explain were usually Lews Therin's memory that seeped into Rand's brain. Lews Therin had been ranting and raving since he saw the man. _Kill him, kill IT! He has tried to kill me before and he will try again, now! We must kill him before he kills us! He tried to kill us at Tarwin's Gap, and again at Falme, and finally at the Stone of Tear! We only survived because we had Callandor! Strike him down now or he will kill us for sure! He's… he's…_

"Ba'alzamon." Rand finished Lews Therin's thought for him. Moridin smiled.

"One of many names. Elan Morin Tedronai, Betrayer of Hope, Ishamael…" Moridin said proudly. "But what I was then is not what I am now. I have new flesh for which to serve the Great Lord, and this time you do not have your precious _Callandor_ to protect you." Moridin finished with disgust. Rand seized _saidin_, filled himself with the sweetness of life and the roaring torrent of power it gave him and slammed a shield down between Moridin and the True Source. Moridin frowned at Rand. "Yes, draw your precious One Power; I follow a different power now." Moridin said in a deep voice. Suddenly hundreds of black flecks swarmed over Moridin's eyes and Rand was struck with an invisible force that send him tumbling off his feet and down the mountain a bit. The void trembled with his falling, but Rand help tight to it. "Three thousand years of planning… and you ruined it all with your path of _destiny_." Moridin scoffed as he walked down the mountain to where Rand lay sprawled at the base of a rock. The black flecks now covered Moridin's entire eye, iris and all so that his cold blue gaze became two pitch black eyes staring out with burning hatred. Rand could almost see the flames leaping in the back of those black eyes. He had seen that gaze before.

Rand realized he had no warning in Moridin's attack. As in Shadar Logoth, he could not feel _saidin_ being used. It was not _saidar_ either because Rand had felt no goose bumps that he normally felt when a woman channeled. "How did you… what kind of _different power_?" Rand asked as he stood. Moridin's eyes remained black as night, but his mouth twitched into half a smile.

"I follow the True Power now. It is the power that runs directly from the Great Lord, which means my power is incomprehensible. Being this close to the Great Lord as we are, my power is almost infinite!" Moridin finished with a loud laugh that seemed to echo over the whole mountain.

"The True Power..." Rand said slowly. _So that's how he's able to channel so strongly without me sensing it. But it's still channeling, so I can still stop the flows once they get close enough to me._ Rand smiled and Moridin frowned.

"What are you up to now you worm?" Moridin asked angrily.

"You'll see." Rand said slyly as he drew deeply on the One Power. Rand slammed his fist into the ground and it rumbled dangerously, sending a tremor-like split in the ground toward Moridin. Moridin must have done something with the True Power because the tremor turned around one hundred and eighty degrees and came toward Rand at least twice as strong as Rand had originally made it. Rand dove out of the way seconds before the tremor slammed into the rock he was standing by. While in mid dive, Rand released a wave of fire twenty feet by twenty feet at Moridin. Moridin held his hands up and the fire collided with him. It continued going past him and Moridin appeared unharmed. Moridin's eyes raged with hatred as he lifted one hand high in the air. Black lightning showered the area, each black lance digging into the ground and sending jolts through Rand. The void crumbled as Rand fell beneath the rubble. Rand felt himself fall into water, and immediately swam to the surface of the water. _This must be a cave beneath Shayol Ghul._ Rand thought to himself as he swam to dry ground. He started running as soon as he got to his feet. Moridin wouldn't let him recover long. Suddenly Rand stopped dead in his tracks. In front of him, a silvery vertical slash of light appeared and opened into a gateway. Rand dove to the right just in time to avoid a volley of fiery balls coruscating into the cavern. Rand stood back up and held onto the void. Moridin stepped through the gateway and looked around, but he didn't see Rand fast enough. Moridin was slammed with a flow of air the size of a building and sent into the opposite wall. He sagged to the ground as Rand channeled a sword of red fire into his hands. Moridin stood up slowly and cracked his neck.

"So this is how you want it Lews Therin? A sword fight? So be it." Moridin said as a double sided blade of black fire appeared in his hands. It looked like if you taped two swords by the handles together. Moridin twirled it skillfully and held his stance. "Well, shall we begin?" Rand rushed at Moridin and swung down at him. Moridin parried his attack and swung with the second side of the sword. Rand ducked under it and swept Moridin's feet out from under him. Moridin landed with a thud and dropped his sword. Rand poised his sword over Moridin and struck down with all his might. Before the blade could reach him, Rand was knocked backward from a flow of air to his gut. Rand lay sprawled on the cavern floor as Moridin got to his feet. "Is that the best you have Lews Therin? You were not meant for greatness, I was! I gave you chance upon chance to serve me and you denied me! You're cheap victory in the Stone of Tear was solely because of your little _sa'angreal_. Well there is no _sa'angreal_ for you this time Lews Therin, this time you will die." Moridin said as he released ten red wires from his fingers. They shot toward Rand, sought him out. Rand rolled away from most of them, but three cut him on various parts of his body. Rand screamed as they pierced his shoulder, his side, and his foot. They burned like a thousand suns yet the pain was distant, someone else's pain within the void. Rand slowly stood to face Moridin.

"All your talk of the power of Shai'tan and this is the best you can do?" Rand said mockingly. Moridin's face darkened and he started walking toward Rand.

"You don't get it Lews Therin. No matter what you do, I will win. Since the beginning of the Wheel I have always won, and you have either died or served me. This time you will still lose, yet it will be a final loss. After today, the Great Lord shall break the Wheel and shape the world in his own image. No matter how long it takes me to kill you, it will happen. As long as my thread of life remains woven into the pattern, the Wheel will continue to re-spin it's never ending cycle of life and with it will be my thread of life." Moridin finished as he stood no more than two paces from Rand.

"Well then, I guess you have nothing to worry about if you're going to win in the end anyways. Maybe you're fighting so hard to win because you know I have just as much chance of winning as you do. You do not shape the pattern, nor do you control events, Moridin. This time the Wheel will be broken, that much is true. But you and your _Great Lord_ will no longer exist. You will be bound out of time and out of the pattern. This much I promise you." Rand said as he drew deeply on the Source. "Come, it is time to die." Moridin's face twisted in rage and he took a step backward. "This time you won't come back." Rand said as he raised his hand. The flows for balefire seemed to gather themselves. Moridin's face turned from rage to fear and he held up his hands in a vain attempt to thwart Rand's attack. Rand loosed the balefire, a blazing rod hotter than the sun that banished all shadows, sweeping death out of time. The liquid beam of fire shot into Moridin and he screamed. His scream seemed to tear at the foundation of the entire mountain and lasted for what seemed like a lifetime as the balefire burned out his thread of life. Moridin became a shape of shimmering motes, flecks dancing in the light for less than a heartbeat, flecks consumed before his cry faded.

Rand sagged to the ground with a grunt. He was exhausted but he could not stop here, he still had his duty to uphold, his responsibility to the world. Rand stood up proudly and opened a gateway to the top of the mountain and stepped through. He let the gateway wink out as he looked on at the opening to the Pit of Doom. The orangey glow from before still burning brightly, calling his name. Rand noticed his blood seeping onto the blacked rocks where he stood. _His blood on the slopes of Shayol Ghul_. Rand seemed to hear Lan's voice in the distance of the void. _Death is lighter than a feather, duty heavier than a mountain_. Rand began his decent into the heart of the mountain, towards his foretold destiny, with the fate of the world on his shoulders, and he laughed.


End file.
